53 | The History of Glasses: Japanese Glass Manufacturers and Handmade Glass Factories (23)

Hello everyone 🎵

Following on from last week, I would like to talk about Kamei Glass, which had a huge impact on and greatly expanded the Japanese glass market.

The oldest catalog I have is from 1989 (Showa 64 / Heisei 1).

Last time, I talked about the Satsuma Kiriko, Edo Bidoro, and Nagasaki Glass series that Kamei Glass revived. Then, from last week, I introduced imported items, starting with glasses from the French company ARC. Following the French company ARC, famous for its campaign products at a certain bakery, I will now talk about the German company Walther.

Walther Glas was a German glass manufacturer specializing in pressed glass, established in 1865. Its high-quality products, created by German craftsmen, were popular not only in Germany but also in Europe and America, and Kamei Glass had an almost exclusive distributorship in Japan.

Around the year 2000, the major manufacturers producing pressed glass (plates, bowls, baskets, vases, etc.) worldwide were the aforementioned Japanese companies Soga Glass and Hasegawa Glass, and the German company Walther. Subsequently, as glass began to be produced in China, Indonesia, Turkey, and other countries, price competition and intensified sales led to the closure of all three companies.

Walther's big hit product was the Carmen series, featuring large floral patterns on small bowls, large plates, vases, and other glass items, which were expanded into many types. These glasses, some colored and others decorated with white sandblasting, were sold in large quantities every year.

The factory, located deep in the German forest, had always been committed to environmental measures, carefully treating wastewater, heat, and waste generated after glass production. However, after the Walther family sold its management to an external company through an M&A, both the design and sales style changed, and the company eventually went out of business, unable to compete with lower-priced items.